Canada Day long weekend is the ideal opportunity to throw a bash in your own backyard. Sebastien Centner, director of Eatertainment Special Events and Catering paired up with ET Canada to offer tips on decor, food and drinks to help ring in Canada's big day.

You don't have too look too far for a colour scheme for this event. Sebastien chose to stick with the traditional Canadian hues of red and white when planning his table. A basic patio table was dressed up with a simple white linen. For an extra element of elegance we used walnut chivari chairs in place of plastic. If renting is not an option you can easily dress up standard backyard furniture with throws and assorted cushions.

When planning the menu you can keep it simple while still impressing your guests. For this particular event Sebastien prepared extra special skewers that can be prepared ahead of time and cooked up in a matter of minutes on the barbeque.

On a hot July day keeping your guests cool is important. While beer is always a barbeque favourite you can also serve one or two specialty drinks. For this Barbeque glass pitchers were filled with ice, cut fruit and rose wine to create a refreshing Sangria. For the designated drivers bottles of water were given a boost by adding fresh raspberries and cut fruit.

For dessert, Weber Barbeques once again helped out the planning by lending us a fabulous outdoor fireplace. This modern take on a campfire was the perfect place to create delicious smores.  This dessert couldn't be easier, as a host you provide the fixings and allow your guests to get their hands messy.

A nice final touch for any party is a gift for your guests as they leave. For this Canada Day Sebastien decided to hand out another traditional Canadian treat. Mini bottles of pure maple syrup were customized with a personalized sticker thanking the guests for spending the evening with us.